Question 1

Contact Variables

Accepted Answer

Contact Variables

@contact - references the contact receiving the message. This is the active contact - the person whose responses are being handled by the workflow. When using the Send a Message to Someone Else action, @contact refers to the contact or group of contacts to which the message is being sent. Each extension, e.g. @contact.name or @contact.fields.field_name, references a specific contact field.

@contact - The full name of the contact if one is set, otherwise their phone number if not set, e.g. "Ben Haggerty"

@contact.name - Also the full name of the contact if one is set, e.g. "Ben Haggerty"

@contact.first_name - The first name of the contact if one is set, e.g. "Ben"

@contact.groups - The groups in which the contact has been placed.

@contact.uuid - The universally unique identifier assigned to each contact.

@contact.display - The name or URN of the contact.

@contact.language - The language iso code for the contact.

@contact.created_on - The creation date of the contact.

@contact.channel - The preferred channel of the contact.

@contact.fields.field_name - any contact fields you've created for your contacts, e.g. @contact.age

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Question 2

Introduction to Telegram Channels

Accepted Answer

, Telegram channel gives you access to a super-fast, simple, and free platform used by over 500 million people around the world through any mobile device. Telegram is a cloud-based instant messaging service - similar to WhatsApp and WeChat - with a focus on speed, openness, and security. It's open source and encrypted end-to-end, meaning that all data sent and received via Telegram cannot be deciphered when intercepted by your ISP, network administrator, or other third parties.

Why Telegram?

There are five key factors that make Telegram our first choice for cloud-based messaging:

Unlike most cloud-based chat applications, Telegram provides an open API that encourages integration and development.
Telegram's values of openness and security fall in line with our own, allowing us to provide an encrypted channel for organizations communicating sensitive information.
It's completely free.
Telegram will allow you to send up to 30 messages per second - the same throughput a short code would allow at no cost.
Telegram provides a web app; a desktop version for Mac, PC, and Linux; and mobile apps for all iOS and Android devices. It can be used anywhere an internet connection is available.

How Does it Work?

Your Telegram channel will be represented by a Bot. [Telegram Bots](https://telegram.org/blog/bot-revolu

Question 3

Calling a Webhook

Accepted Answer

In the example above, we're asking contacts to send their name, which will look up their PID using a webhook with Airtable.

Webhooks simply POST flow data structured as JSON to an external service every time a contact reaches a Call Webhook action. When a contact reaches this node, we'll call the URL you've configured, passing it all of the variables collected up to that point in the flow. See the Flow Event webhook documentation for a full list of the values included. If your service returns a JSON object, we will save its values and allow you to access the last webbook response in the flow using the @webhook variable prefix.

For example, the Order Status Checker sample flow in your account asks the contact for their order number, then looks it up by POSTing it to an example external service that we've configured. That service responds with a JSON object similar to the following:

{
"status": "Shipped",
"number": "CU001",
"name": "Ben Haggerty",
"shipdate": "October 9th", "deliverydate": "April 3rd",
"description": "Vogue White Wall x 4"
}

You're then able to reference these keys anywhere in the flow via an extra variable using @run.results .

Configuring a 'Call Webhook' Action

In this example, we'll show you how to add a webhook to a flow. You can fol

Question 4

Configuring a Webhook with Airtable

Accepted Answer

Airtable enables you to build and organize databases for just about any project you could imagine. The basic version is totally free to use and allows for real time collaboration with team members, making it an ideal data organization tool.

In the example below, we're using the Call Webhook action in a flow to look up sales agents by zip code as stored in an Airtable database that we've created.

Build your Airtable Database

In order to pull data into your flow using a Webhook, you'll first need to create an Airtable account and build your database.

Below is our simple PID lookup database, which includes fields (equivalent to spreadsheet columns) for the contact's name and PID.

Build your Flow

After you've created a database in Airtable, you're ready to build your flow. In our example below, we first asked the contact to send their name to look up their PID. By using the Call Webhook action, we will send a request to Airtable to pull in the data from our database.

*Note that look-ups in Airtable are case-sensitive.

Setting up your Call Webhook Action

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Question 5

Introduction to Channels

Accepted Answer

Channels allow you to send and receive messages or phone calls through your account. You can connect up to 10 channels, including multiple channels of the same type.

Channel Types

Available channel types include aggregators (SMS & Voice), Facebook Messenger, Telegram, Instagram, and more. We're always looking to add channels, so feel free to recommend one to support@textit.com.

Aggregator (SMS & Voice)

Aggregators are services that process messages across multiple carriers with exceptional speed and efficiency. They provide virtual mobile numbers and shortcodes that are easily connected to your account through API integration.

Examples of aggregators include, but are certainly not limited to:

Throughput

Throughput is the speed of the messages sent by your channel, measured in messages/second. For example, with toll-free Twilio numbers, throughput is 3 text messages/second, whereas

Question 6

Configuring your Reply-to Email

Accepted Answer

TextIt configures an automatic default address from which emails will be sent from flows. You can easily change this reply-to email address to a new one of your choosing in order to directly receive emails from your contacts.

First, navigate to your account settings page and scroll down to "Email sent from flow….":

Click on the section and you'll be prompted to change the details of the email address:

You'll need to fill in each of the fields and submit.

Email Address

You can choose any email you wish.

SMTP Host

This will depend upon which server hosts your email. Search for your SMTP server online for this information.

Username

This will be youremail@server.com/org/etc.

Password

This is your password to enter your email account.

Port

When you search for the SMTP Host information for your server, you will find the port codes. You will want to use the TLS option.

In the example below, I've used my work email account, which is hosted by Google:

The last step is to click Save, which will complete your reply-to email configuration:

Be sure to check out our article about how to send emails from flows.

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